On Wednesday 23rd of August (2017), I went to see the singer/songwriter Jonah Matranga playing a live solo set(s) at The Running Horse in Nottingham.
It was the first time that I'd been there, and it is a lovely intimate venue. Perhaps intimate enough for even me to be willing to go back to playing live... That's doubtful though! Being the guy singing was, and is still, an incredibly frightening thought!
To just stay on that subject for a short aside, my stage fright is a strange thing, and even I recognise that! I can record myself on video using my phone, and then post it up, because I'm not thinking about who's watching, if anyone, because there's a distance between me and those watching/listening, that isn't on my mind at the time, but only afterwards.
Anyway...
I made my way to Nottingham in Scarlett (my car), and had absolutely no idea where the pub was, and since I couldn't find my satnav quickly enough, I used Google Maps on my iPhone...
Great idea using Google Maps to navigate, as I ended up about three miles away from it!
I got directions from someone, and saw the pub on my left, and turned off onto Talbot Street, where I parked in the multi-storey that I know from Rock City.
From there I walked to The Running Horse, and got there just slightly after ten to eight, with eight being the gig time! "Cutting it close there," I thought... They were closed, and I was looking around as I rang the venue. The landlord asked me where I was, and I saw him at the front entrance looking for me.
He said that he was just opening now, and so I paid £12.50 for the ticket, and was suddenly met with intense nervousness and anxiety.
There sat at a table as I walked in was Jonah himself, with his daughter Hannah, and two friends/team-members.
I went to the bar, bought a bottle of coke, and sat at the nearest table to the stage. I probably won't do that again for a while, because I'm naturally a shy person at heart!
It took a lot of guts back in the day to become the frequent attendee (and occasional performer) of the music scene in Mansfield, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottingham, Worksop, Retford, etc.
At first I had to some how make friends, and then those friendships helped to give me confidence.
Now that I've been away from all of that for such a long while, I'm back to being that shy, paranoid (my nickname Marv was given to me based on Marvin the paranoid android from Hitchiker's Guide To The Galaxy) soul that I was beforehand.
In every situation in life, I've had to really force myself into situations, which even includes work colleagues. Every single time it's a completely terrifying situation for me, but the outcome is usually positive enough for me to know that it's worth that pain (and occasional diarrhoea and vomiting beforehand).
Here I was at The Running Horse, sat drinking coke at a table less than ten feet away from a singer/songwriter who I admire a lot! Nervousness doesn't even got close to how I was feeling.
My introduction to Jonah's music was hearing the song Job's Eyes on the Buffy The Vampire Slayer television series episode The Pack.
I'd been playing guitar and bass a few years by that time. Me and the drummer (Andy) from the trio I was in shared a love of songs that utilised non-standard time signatures, and at the next band get-together, we both said to each other at the same time "did you hear that riff?!?!" It's a song that's filled with some great time changes, and it grabbed both of us!
We both got the album it came from, Tin Cans With Strings To You, on CD, and it immediately hooked me in! There was something about the emotions in each song, Jonah's lyrics, and the whole package that I can't quite place my finger on, but it became one of my favourite albums!
I was going through difficult stuff at the time, and somehow it helped me a lot!
Over the years I tried to keep up with Jonah's projects (as well as other members of the band Far - including bassist John Gutenberger's band Two Sheds that includes his wife, and guitarist Shaun Lopez's band The Revolution Smile), and even picked the song Drive Away from Jonah's band Gratitude as a song on a radio show on my local radio station at the time in Mansfield, where I was a guest on a show hosted by my friend's Paul & Tony.
Jonah's gig then...
So, I sat with my cola bottle and posted on Facebook about being nervous. A moment or two later, I heard Jonah say aloud "you'll be okay Martin," or words to that effect!
That sort of made me feel a little better, but still I stayed where I was, gathering up a little bit of courage during the first part of his set.
It was a fascinating gig, and different, apparently a first for him where he read passages from his new autobiography, entitled Alone Rewinding, where the passages led to songs that related to them, starting with a song he wrote and performed at school when he was fourteen years old!
I wish that I'd have written down the set list, but then I'm not sure if Jonah will remember the Running order, because it seemed to be a setlist made up on the spot, which made it even more special!
I loved the reading of passages from his book leading up to the songs, and am looking forward to when my own copy of the book comes, so that I can read more of it, because I thought that what I heard was great writing and so interesting.
Towards the end of the first half of his set, he was asking for song suggestions, and played my suggestion of A Ghost, from his onelinedrawing project The Volunteers.
He did another song after that, which I think might have been where he played a new song. I'm not sure if that's when he played it, but it's a beautiful song!
During a break in his set, I did actually go up to talk to him, got someone to take photographs of us (not great photos - the first one I'd blinked and look drunk or stoned, even though I was neither, and the second was blurred), and chatted with him.
It felt difficult to me, because I always feel like I'm imposing, as well as feeling like I was talking rubbish.
I had two CD's in my jacket pocket for signing (Tin Cans and The Volunteers), but decided not to ask, because I still felt nervous and difficult.
I mentioned that Tin Cans was one of my favourite albums, and he said that he knew a song to play that was perfect for me. He wasn't wrong!
He started the second half with a beautiful acoustic rendition of the opening song What I've Wanted To Say.
The original Far recording from the album wonderfully put over a feeling of yearning, and the acoustic rendition he performed gave it an added poignancy that was so touching!
He effortlessly transitioned from that into the Gratitude song The Greatest Wonder, another great song!
I think that he started a little after 8.30, and the whole thing went on past eleven o'clock, because he played a wonderful encore.
It was a remarkable performance from start to finish, and is one of the best gigs/concerts that I've been to!
There was a wonderful intimacy to the venue, and the way that he performed! He seems to thrive on that personal closeness to the audience, and that interactiveness made it all the more enjoyable and memorable.
I thanked Jonah afterwards, but didn't go up to him again to do so. He was with his daughter Hannah (happy birthday for Friday Hannah) and friends, and I don't think I wanted to get in the way.
Not that I'm comparing, but back when I tried to perform gigs on my own, there were a couple of times where people came up to me and were positive about my songs and me personally. For some reason I found that difficult, and that's why, in a way, I find being "just a musician" a more appealing thing that being the focal point.
I'm not saying that I think Jonah is the same way, but in the back of my mind I was thinking "I don't want to make it difficult or make Jonah feel weirded out!"
Hopefully I'll get to see him play live again, and make up for the weird neurosis-filled me (and get a better photo with him).
Thank you Jonah.
Thank you all for reading, and please take care.
August 26th 2017 (46 years and nine months old).
